Apni Party leader shot dead by terrorists in Kulgam
Terrorists on Thursday shot dead an Apni Party leader in Kulgam, the third fatal attack on mainstream politicians in Jammu and Kashmir in two weeks, even as police said they have no record of Ghulam Hassan Lone's political affiliation. Lone was shot at by the ultras in his native area, officials said, adding he was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries.
Nothing to suggest that Lone was a political worker: Police
A police spokesman said, "Neither police records nor the activities of the deceased indicated him to be a political worker." "Besides, no political party had indicated or intimated about his political affiliation. However, post-incident, the Apni Party has claimed that the deceased was their political worker," the spokesman said.
LG, political parties have condemned Lone's killing
Lone's killing evoked widespread condemnation including by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and mainstream political parties such as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), National Conference, Congress, the BJP, and People's Conference.
Perpetrators will be brought to justice: LG
"Anguished to hear about the terror attack on political leader Shri Ghulam Hassan Lone at Devsar, KuLGam. I strongly condemn this cowardly attack," the LG tweeted. "Perpetrators of this heinous act will be brought to justice very soon. My prayers & thoughts with the bereaved family in this time of grief," he added.
There seems to be no end to political killings: Mufti
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti tweeted, "Unfortunately there seems to be no end to the spree of political killings in Kashmir. Unreservedly condemn the killing of Apni party leader Ghulam Hassan Lone. My deepest condolences to the bereaved family."
This trend of targeting mainstream politicians is very worrying: Abdullah
National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah tweeted, "Very sorry to hear about the assassination of Ghulam Hassan Lone in Devsar area of South Kashmir." "This renewed trend of targeting mainstream politicians by militant outfits is very worrying & I condemn the same in the strongest possible terms. May Allah grant the departed Jannat," he added.
Three more such killings have happened this month
The BJP and Congress also issued statements condemning the killing and called upon the government to identify the killers and hand out exemplary punishment. Notably, two days ago, a BJP worker Javaid Ahmad Dar was killed by terrorists in Kulgam. On August 9, two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists had barged into the house of a BJP sarpanch in Anantnag and killed him and his wife.
